Snapdragon Stadium and the Aztecs' New Era

San Diego State University opened Snapdragon Stadium in August twenty twenty-two, ending a nearly decade-long fight to keep major college football in San Diego. The Aztecs had played at the old Qualcomm Stadium, a venue they shared with the NFL's Chargers until the team left for Los Angeles in twenty seventeen. Rather than inherit an oversized relic, SDSU purchased the Mission Valley site, tore down the old bowl, and built a football-specific stadium seating around thirty-five thousand.

It was the first new college-football-only stadium built in the United States in many years. The Aztecs, members of the Mountain West Conference, had already won multiple conference championships and sent coaches and players to the NFL, including Don Coryell, who coached the Aztecs before his Air Coryell passing offense revolutionized pro football. The new stadium keeps that tradition rooted in San Diego.